In what’s a usual occurrence, Syracuse Men’s Basketball announced earlier this week that they will face Cornell this season.
This will be the tenth matchup in eleven years between these programs, but to call the Orange and Big Red rivals would be a stretch. Syracuse has been dominant for decades against the Ivy League opponent, having won 42 straight games since 1968 against Cornell.
The 2024 matchup is set for Wednesday, November 27 at the Dome. And it comes at an interesting time for SU. The Orange will be five days removed from the Legends Classic, being played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The invitational has a stacked field with Texas, Texas Tech and Saint Joseph’s. Then, after the Cornell game Syracuse will travel to Knoxville to take on the University of Tennessee in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Dec. 3.
That means SU very well could be playing two powerhouses with Cornell situated in the middle, making it an important matchup.
Syracuse handled business in the most recent matchup between the two schools with an 81-70 win. But Cornell was not quiet the whole season. The Big Red ended up making the NIT tournament, where they could have met up again with Syracuse. But SU decided to decline an invitation to the NIT and focus on the upcoming off-season and transfer portal.
Since then, there’s been changes to both programs. For SU, they’re welcoming a top-ten in the nation recruiting and were active in the transfer portal. The Big Red had its biggest change come on the sideline. Jon Jaques was announced as the new head coach in April, replacing Brian Earl, the new coach at William & Mary.
Per ESPN, Jaques has had a big focus in offensive efficiency during his time at Cornell, where he’s been in many roles, including player and associate head coach.
Syracuse will likely enter this matchup as a huge favorite based on roster configuration and recent results. But as Adrian Autry showed last year with Syracuse, first-year head coaches can have success. Sandwiched between two tough games for the Orange, this will likely be a must-win for SU in November.
